The Soul Copy 5000

Today's Flash Fiction Friday story comes from the following prompt that I gave to my writing group this week.

A new app lets you download your soul into something different

Everyone had a great time with this prompt and came up with some really great works.  This is what spring to mind for me. Read in your best Dan Aykroyd voice.

The Soul Copy 5000

Do your actions ever feel like a mystery?  Do you wish you could ask yourself, "Just what was I thinking?"  Well now you can, with the Soul Copy 5000.  This little app will copy your soul into any house hold item.  Available for IOS and Android, simple hook the Soul Copy 5000 Lead Cables to you temples and plug into your smart phone.  With one simple press of the big red copy button, 1.5 minutes later your soul is copied and ready for upload.  Once copied into the Soul Copy 5000, simply attach the alligator clips to either side of your favorite house hold item and press the big blue send button.  You'll be talking to a copy of yourself in the toaster or the stereo in no time.  Learn your deepest darkest secrets today for just $9.95.

Warning: The Soul Copy 5000 may cause, bloating, dizziness, dry mouth, vampirism or a craving for the flesh of the living.  Not available in California or South Dakoda.  Order yours today!

Flash Fiction Friday

Hey Gang, It’s Flash Fiction Friday.  This is a new feature to the blog where every Friday I’m going to post a little piece of flash fiction.  Flash Fiction (my definition, as there is no accepted length) is a story that is under 1000 words.  This particular story is based off a prompt I gave to the writing group I moderate twice a month at my local book store, The Towne Book Center & Café 

Enjoy!

Cyber Monday

"I have no idea how I got there.  I mean you know how it is on the internet.  You click on one link, then another, then another and next thing you know, you've been online for three hours watching Hungarian Bootleg Spider-man episodes."

"That's not much of an explanation of how… all this… happened." Susan said

"I'm getting there, I'm getting there.  So, I'm clicking around and I see an ad for Baba Yaga's House of Discount Magic."

"You do love Magic."

"Exactly, I had to click on the site.  It turned out they were having a huge Cyber Monday Blowout.  I browsed around a bit and discovered that they have a digital Jinn service."

"Jinn?"

"Oh yeah, you would call it a Genie.  They're really called Jinn, but the English anglicized it." John explained. "Anyway, it was only $7.95 for a rub of the bottle.  You slide your mouse pointer back and forth over the bottle on the screen.  A little animated gif pops up with a textbox." 

John stopped and shrugged a little, giving Susan a half smile.

"You made a wish."

"Yeah."  John dropped his head a little.

"hmmm…" Susan paced around the room tapping her chin. "What exactly did you wish for?"

"Umm… Well, you know how I've always wanted to be stronger." John scratched at one of his long, hairy arms.

"And that's why the Jinn turned you into a gorilla?"

John shook his large gorilla head. "I tried to change back, but couldn't type with my new hands.  All I could do was mash the keys."

Everyday Getting a Little Closer to Real

Things are really picking up steam with the first issue of The Chronicles of the Tal Nor.  Kelsea, my amazing artist has been cracking out the line work like crazy and it's amazing. I'm really excited to see what it looks like after she colors the pages.  She is an amazing watercolorist and if you don't believe me check out our first book I Hate When They Run HERE.

I also have been moving things forward with some of the other item's that I'm making to go along with the IndieGoGo funding campaign we will run to fund the printing of the first issue (and hopefully more issue beyond that).  Some of these things that my friends are making are truly breath taking.  It's nice to see all this amazing work.

It's also scary as hell.  With every step we get closer to making this a real thing the stronger my anxiety about it seems to get.  I have so much fear that I will not pull this off.  The fear voices in my head are telling me enough stories of why I'll fail to put Scheherazade to shame.  It's hard not to believe lies that my depression and anxiety are telling, but I'm trying my best to fight them back.  I'm sure this is something everyone who makes things, who puts themselves out there, goes through. 

And I have contingency.  If the IndieGoGo fails, there is the bonus from my day job coming up.  I don't even want to think how anxious I'll be the week of my review if I need to rely on that to fund this thing.  You see at my day job bonus are all based on our yearly reviews.  The better the review, the more of our bonus we get.  If we hit all our goals we get the full thing, if we fall sure we only get a percentage.

But that months away, I have things much close to be excited and stressed about.  Like the Spring City Local Author Fest at the Spring City Library on Saturday April 18^th 11am to 4pm.  It should be a lot of fun.  I'll be selling copies of my comics as well as giving a talk on how comics are made.  Kind of scared of giving the talk for all of the reasons.  Please come out and make sure the No One Shows Up reason doesn't come true.  If you come by I'll show you some of the works in progress for the first issue of The Chronicles of the Tal Nor. Click HERE for more details.

While we're still in the prep phase of the IndieGoGo campaign I have a question for you dear reader; what donation rewards would you like to see?  Also how much would you be willing to give in return? 

For those not familiar with IndieGoGo, it's online crowd funding platform.  The best way to describe it is it like an online PBS pledge drive for one specific project.  Much like PBS, rewards or incentives are given for donating at certain levels.  Like if you donate $3 you'll get a digital copy of the comic, $5,000 and you'll get a dream date with Ed Cunningham (That's a WHYY joke for people not from Philly).  I have come up with a nice list of rewards for when we go live but since we have some time I'd love your input dear reader.

OK, I've put off "real" writing for long enough.

Keep making things!

T.